It's Innocence Lost
by True Love's Kis5
Summary: Castiel is a dangerous witch known for his monstrosity, for stealing the souls of the innocent. Dean Winchester is the prince of the castle and while he doesn't want to go to the dangerous witch, it's his last chance to save Sam. He'd do anything to save Sam, even when Castiel demands Dean's own soul in payment.
1. Souls

The Novak family had always been tighter than most; they had no friends or neighbors who knew about anything more than their presence except of course the Winchesters who they had not spoken to in years. They rarely left their small cottage that was too small for four rambunctious boys, especially when those boys were anything but human.

But Castiel felt no less human than any other child his age. He felt as human as one could without understanding the true limits of humanity. He felt emotion like everyone else, loneliness above all. He missed his friends but understood their reasons for staying away. Even at a young age their father hadn't wanted them fraternizing with witches.

That was long past and unimportant. He told himself that the Winchesters were unimportant, that everyone except his family was useless. It was not a good way to live but it made his solitude easier to bear. Still, though, he remembered when he'd played with his friends and it was hard to dismiss sometimes.

Michael said that they'd left because the entire family was cursed but Castiel thought that good people like the Winchesters simply did not wish to make themselves acquainted with witches. Which was completely fine. As long as he had his family he would be perfectly content.

Then things began to fall apart.

Lucifer left them on the night when Winter and Summer kissed,

He left them on a cold autumn evening, rebelling against their absent father's wish for them to stay in solitude. No, perhaps solitude was too peaceful a word. That suggested that Lucifer had gone quietly instead of in a grand display of violence.

Castiel's heart began to die as soon as Lucifer stepped out of their little cottage, as soon as he left the Kingdom with a dangerous farewell gift. A plague that would not be forgotten for generations to come.

Gabriel agreed with Castiel at first. They both agreed that the reason their father had asked them to stay in isolation was because of people like Lucifer. But on the anniversary of Lucifer's fall, Gabriel left him too. He didn't leave with such a flare, however. He simply slipped out into the night and never came back.

And Balthazar? He was far sneakier than the others, though for who Castiel didn't know. He would have preferred to know that his brother was gone than to believe that he was dead. But nonetheless he had found his brother's dead body and believed it's lies. He trusted that Balthazar was dead, unaware that he was tricking him just like his other brothers had.

For a year after their departure, Castiel watched the humans with soft eyes. Softly like velvet he watched them work with a light smile, pretending that he was perfectly fine and had not been affected by his brothers' fall.

The plague killed each human that he became invested in until he slowly lost himself. He died with compassion as all of his favorite humans choked on Lucifer's plague and he could do nothing because of his promise of loneliness. He did not reveal himself, he hid in the shadows as his heart rotted and burned until all of a sudden he stopped caring.

It was in the years after that first lonley one that Castiel reveled in his monstrosity. As a fully-fledged witch he could do anything that he truly wanted. But as a monster he had no friends, no one to bring him back to humanity. He grew so dauntingly cold that he did finally reveal himself to the humans only to demand a hefty price for his services. He demanded their souls.

It didn't matter to Castiel what the job was. Though he was terrible, he was seductive in power, there was no feat that was too great. And when he had their souls, only then did he become humane. He kept these souls close to him always, paranoid in his power and possessive of the only things he let close to him. They were a great leap from friends but it didn't really matter to him. He didn't need friends.

He forgot all about the Winchesters and what it was like to feel loved as he spiraled into deep-seated insanity. Castiel hated his brothers, he blamed them and his father for what had become of him.

So he needed more souls of course. More souls to keep him company in his isolation. More more more more more.

In present time he only had five hundred and four souls. But he -knew- all of them. He needed another one, just one more, but no one was knocking on his door, not one human. He felt like ripping his hair out, it just wasn't enough. None of it was enough. He couldn't be alone like this.

And then, several weeks later when he felt he might kill himself, there was a knock on his door. Just one, but it was enough to send him scrambling. He didn't want to look desperate, though, so he forced himself to appear emotionless and cruel. He didn't have to try for the latter. Cruelty came easily to him lately.

He wasn't expecting the man who was on the other side of his door, though. He was taller than Castiel, though minimally, with light hair and green eyes. It was the Prince of the Kingdom, Dean Winchester.

That name seemed familiar. Dean Winchester; but he assumed that it was just because of the multitude of times he'd heard the name. "Your highness," he sneered, coldness taking possession of his bright blue eyes.

The Prince didn't look amused. He gave Castiel a disbelieving look and said "you're Castiel?"

"Castiel? That was my name wasn't it?" It sounded so strange to hear it echoed across a human's lips. Or anyone for that matter. The souls never used his name, they were afraid to utter it.

Dean looked to the other man behind him, exchanging looks of varying increledicity. "Uh-yeah, look dude, we need your help."

"Help…" The word was familiar to him. It accompanied sobbing humans who believed they could bargain with something less valuable than their soul. "Why should I give you help?"

Dean couldn't come up with any answer to that. The witch looked really really familiar but there was something disconcerting about his deranged eyes that reminded Dean who he was dealing with. The witch constantly stole the souls of the innocent. "I can talk to Dad about the payment. Just...Come with us."

Castiel stared at Dean a little bit longer than was necessary and the prince momentarily thought he was going to have to defend himself but then the witch just nodded. "Yes, of course."

Castiel didn't have any reason to stay in his dilapidated cabin anymore. The souls themselves would be fine, and something about Dean reminded him more of home than his house did.

Dean got in the back of the carriage and though he wasn't really comfortable to have Castiel sit next to him, he didn't have any other options. The guy was freaking weird, but he looked harmless. It was a wrong assumption, but something in the back of his mind kept telling him that Castiel was a good guy.

The man in the long tan coat went to sit next to him, vacant eyes staring forward. It was disconcerting and Dean felt like he had to say something.

"So," he grew suddenly serious. "You say that you can heal anyone, right?"

Castiel looked to the side, blinking slowly. "I can, yes. For a price."

"Yeah, yeah I know," growled Dean "a soul, right?"

It took him a long time to answer. "Yes."

Dean didn't try to start any more conversations after that and it wasn't long before they were back at the castle. The golden arches rose higher than the sky, glimmering under the quiet summer light invitingly, practically pulling him towards the beautiful monument.

Castiel appeared out of place in the green plains. His dark brown hair was too-long, coat ripped up, eyes sunken. He looked like the kind of person who would be begging on the streets, not like someone who was needed at the castle.

"Come on!" said Dean, waving his hand warily. "Dad isn't going to be happy if we're late. And you really don't want the King angry with you."

Castiel seemed to remember something and he looked at Dean with some interest before saying. "No, not again."

Dean dismissed that. If John had been angry with Cas, then he would be dead. Unless of course, his father was afraid of the witch but he found that scenario unlikely.

Silently they both walked into the palace, Castiel's footsteps dangerously quiet against the smooth floors. He didn't seem awed with his surroundings like every other person Dean had met had been, instead he seemed almost bored with everything except the servants who came out of their rooms. He looked at them like they were cookies or something. Witches didn't...Eat people, did they?

Dean led Castiel up the spiral staircase which were, in his opinion, a complete waste of space. He thought spiral staircases were a lot of useless exercise. "Dad?"

"You found him?" asked Dean's father who was sitting down next to Sam.

"Yeah, he's right…" Castiel was still halfway up the stairs watching one of the nobles who was visiting for a while. Dean really hoped that he didn't eat people. "Right there. Castiel! Come on!"

Cas looked up at him and listlessly strode up the stairs, joining him next to John.

"So you can do it, boy?" asked John, narrowing his eyes. Even if his boys didn't remember when they'd played with this witch, he did. He'd never forget that this boy had almost destroyed them.

"I'm not a boy," said Castiel "you would do well to remember that."

The King didn't appear to much like that statement but he ignored it. "You didn't answer my question."

Castiel gave a slight nod. Of course he could; but he was not the small boy that he'd been when John and he had met last. He was a monster now, so he would take advantage of John's affections.

**"****Of course I can. But in return for his healing...I want Dean Winchester's soul."**


	2. Rotten

Sam woke up in a daze, the colors around him molded together like autumn until he blinked the sleep from his eyes. Or maybe it wasn't sleep, he'd probably passed out from one of his visions again.

There was a man sitting over him, a man who looked like he belonged anywhere but the castle. His long hair hung in front of hazy blue eyes, a dirty tan coat cloaked around him; it looked like he hadn't changed for some time because of poverty or insanity. It was hard to tell because with the plague raging so strongly, there were countless examples of both.

"Hello, Samuel," said the man. Something about his voice rang dauntingly familiar to Sam but he didn't comment on it. "I'm here to cure you of your disease."

Oh. That's who this was. Dean had said he was going to call a witch and that when he came Sam would have to be careful. This particular witch could be very tricky because not only did he steal the souls of humans, he could...What was it that Dean had said? Oh right.

"Sammy, this guy can talk to you and you'll beg him to take your soul. That's what they say. And your soul is -not- gonna be the one that he takes, okay?"

Sam still wondered whose soul was going to be taken because he'd been too scared to ask when Dean had brought it up. Still, this witch interested him. And he was so damned familiar… "Have we met before?"

Castiel looked up at Sam, startled as if he'd thought he'd known every question that someone could possibly ask and that wasn't on his list. "Once, a very long time ago. Almost too long ago to try to remember."

That definitely didn't remedy Sam's curiosity, he had to push a little bit further. "So when we were younger, then?" That rang a bell in his head but he didn't know why.

"Much younger, yes." There was something deranged about his eyes, frantic as Sam's questioning got further; he'd almost stopped asking when Castiel added "that's not of import, especially not in your condition."

As if Sam hadn't heard -that- enough in his lifetime.

"We should go to dinner now," said Castiel "and there we and your family will converse about the price, understood?"

Was he saying that Sam was healed? He instantly sprung up out of his seat, almost tripping over his own feet.

He waited.

Another moment, and…

There was no pain. Absolutely none. He didn't know what he was doing, he didn't even think about it, he just hugged the dangerous witch-hard.

"Why are you squeezing me with your body?"

…

In the time that it had taken Samuel to wake up, Castiel had finally retrieved his souls from his cottage. He'd been so lonely without them.

They weren't friends and yet they were the closest thing that he had. Not many of them were kind, not all of them loveable, but Castiel couldn't stand being lonely for too long. Without his brothers he was so very lonely.

He walked down to dinner with Samuel, sharply aware of their presence.

'_they'll take advantage of you Castiel, they're humans, they're just like the others.'  
_

_another voice disagreed 'that's a lie. Humans aren't like your brothers, humans will not hurt you...'_

"Be quiet you two," he said aloud, forgetting that Sam was still walking next to him. "I'll decide that for myself unless you'd like to contradict me?"

The voices were quiet but Sam Winchester was not. "Uh-who are you talking to?"

"The souls," was all he said.

"oh."

…

Castiel had the aura of dangerous power that held in the air like the scent of stale bread. It wasn't as if the Winchesters could smell it exactly but it made the hair on the back of their necks rise and it was even worse for John Winchester who had known exactly what this boy would turn into since the day his children had first talked of him.

He remembered Dean coming home, exclaiming that he and his brother had a new friend from the forest just behind the castle. He'd known then, just as he knew now that he should get rid of all witches before they start even more chaos than they already had.

Lucifer, Castiel's brother, had always been an insolent brat but as a full-fledged witch even then John could truly do nothing about it. And then the which had left their city and he had been elated at first! One of them gone, only three more to go, but then he'd left that dreadful plague-curse with the Kingdom so John had done the only thing that he could; he'd outlawed being a witch in his kingdom.

And now one was sitting in front of him, stronger than Lucifer ever was and John was making a deal with him.

The witch could have only been in his mid to late teenage years, younger than Dean but older than Sam, yet there was something impossibly old about him. His blue eyes held a kind of wary wisdom but he was obviously and completely corrupted by power. He was asking the King to trade one of his sons for the other and he couldn't -do- that.

So of course he had to trick him; no matter how young this kid was, Castiel was the most dangerous person that John had ever encountered and he couldn't forget that any time soon.

"I have a new deal for you."

Castiel raised an eyebrow, arrogance evident in his expression. He turned just to his side, though he never lost eye contact with John "no, Mary, let him speak…"

Mary? That name didn't bring him any happiness but he was still bargaining so he pretended that he hadn't heard.

"And what is that, John?"

"You save my son," John hated to say the word save to a witch, the fact that he had to rely on him was bad enough… "And I won't throw you in jail."

"Oh you're right, that is funny," Castiel said to no one in particular (or the voice in his head? John wasn't sure, he wasn't sure that he wanted to know). His blue eyes shined with mirth and he laughed lightly, no apparent evil in his expression. "Just because you made me laugh I will give him an extra week. Not many people can do that."

But John wasn't intimidated, or he wouldn't pretend that he was. "It wasn't a suggestion."

John had seen a lot of things in his lifetime but never had he felt wind flipping his hair while he was inside. And Castiel's expression had gotten less mirthful, more dangerously powerful. If power could be a facial expression, this witch commanded it with more skill than any king or emperor than John had ever seen.

"Really, I simply can't bargain with you any further." He commanded a light smirk, fist closed together as if he were crushing something in his hand. Perhaps John's sanity.

The wind grew harder until Dean finally yelled "will someone tell me what the hell is going on!?"

"Yes, John," said Castiel, tilting his head innocently. He must have been speaking loudly but the King could hear him as clearly as if he were right next to him. He commanded the room, he was every molecule and power cracked around them. "Why don't you tell him what's going on."

"Stop this!" yelled John as the wind began to sweep plates and silverware off of the table and was still growing harder.

"Then why don't you explain our deal?" Castiel put his elbows on the table, holding his head in his hands innocently as the table shook beneath them.

"The deal -was-" and he had to make sure that Castiel knew he wasn't going to continue with the payment "I would trade Dean's soul for Sam's."

The wind stopped shaking the table and Castiel was sitting straight again. It had stopped just soon enough for Dean and Sam to hear what he'd said with perfect clarity.

"That is our deal, John Winchester." He leaned towards the King with smooth motions "and if you ever try to change it again… Just remember who you're talking to."

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter was so short! I'll try my best to get a really really long chapter next time, okay? **

**First of all, I Just want to explain the characterization of Castiel. He pretty much went insane and stole and bunch of souls so now he's really screwed up and kind of evil but don't worry I'll fix that later….**

**Just so you know, I have a really big thing about angst and it'll probably bleed into this story. **

**I also got a review asking if I was going to make this story Destiel… The answer to that is that I dont' think I'll be making this story much of anything. That being said, I'd like to know what you guys want it to be, so… Leave a review and tell me if you'd like it to have any ships and if so, which ones?**


	3. Blood is Thicker

It was just after Balthazar had left Castiel that he began to go truly mad. If insanity was a sickness then it was a curse because while it could not be passed on, it could be inflicted by any person who you cared about enough. Castiel had definitely cared about Balthazar enough, they'd always been close, especially in childhood before he had become a monster and Balthazar an absent picture on the wall.

They never truly grew apart, though, because even after Castiel had long fell into insanity and none of his family had ever returned to him, Balthazar thought about his brother more than anyone else, wondering if he'd truly made the right decision to leave.

But that's a story for another day, because more important was in the days just before anyone had left, before he had gone mad.

While the Winchesters had certainly been important to him, they were merely children. Family was more important to Castiel than his friends had been, but perhaps someone else had been more important than both of them in the long run.

Mary Winchester.

Now in most child relationships the mother is simply the one who brings the sandwiches but to Castiel who had never had a mother before or anything similar, Mary was the greatest person he had ever met. He was closer to her than he was to Michael, his brother, and Mary even thought of him as her own child.

While he did became monster later in life, Castiel was the sweetest child imaginable. When he stepped on a butterfly he'd cried until it had peeled itself up off of the ground. No one realized that he'd brought it back to life until much later. It was no wonder that Mary had fallen in love with him and taken him in as her own.

In fact, their relationship was very possibly stronger than with his own friends because even after Sam and Dean had stopped coming to see him, Mary still sat up in the trees of the forest, reading him stories and teaching him how to read them himself.

Then Lucifer came into the story, or maybe he'd been there all along, hiding in the shadows. If Mary had been his mother then Lucifer would have been his father (and what a terrible couple they'd make) but when he left, Castiel had cried for many days to Mary, asking her what he'd done wrong.

Of course Castiel hadn't done anything wrong at that point but he was proven wrong again and again. Michael died at the hands of the plague that Lucifer had left them, which of course reduced little Castiel to pitiful tears in the arms of Mary Winchester.

When Gabriel had gone out to play in the woods and never came back, Castiel knew very well that like Lucifer, this had been a choice. So instead of breaking into tears, he decided never to cry again.

When he found Balthazar's dead body in the corner of his bedroom besides all of his books he decided that despite Mary Winchester he would never read again. And if she understand nothing about Castiel, then she understood that the only reason he took her soul was because he didn't want her leaving like the others. he was sure no one would stay with him unless he forced them to.

Castiel was so afraid of betrayal that he never let her go even though he could have. With so much power in present time, he could certainly make her a new body and send her free but he was still afraid. She was still a kind voice when he needed comforting and he was still her child in her eyes even if she was appalled by what he'd become.

Not only was she appalled by what he was, but also by what he was becoming. He was growing more and more terrible and there was nothing that Mary could do but advise him otherwise.

Being a soul was one of the strangest things that Mary had ever had to experience. It was less like being a consciousness and more like being an angel. She could watch but never interfere, like an outside source invisible to anyone but her monster. Maybe other witches could see her, she wasn't sure. Or she wasn't until she saw someone who she'd thought was long gone.

Castiel, Sam, Dean, and John were still having dinner but Mary had decided to wander through the castle. She missed it greatly despite the comfort she gave Castiel that she was perfectly content with him.

First she walked through the great hall and remembered dancing there with John. He was never very good but it still made her heart flutter just remembering it. The stairs spiraled up into their bedroom and just to the left of that, on white tile was Dean's room.

She remembered very well that it was white tile only because it wasn't white by the time Dean was done with it. Mary would have laughed at the memory if there was anyone to hear her; it seemed that she couldn't make a sound unless Castiel was near her. Maybe that was the way he wanted it.

After wallowing in her memories, she wandered into the kitchen. She'd always quite liked the cooks there and had always spoken with her favorite cook, Elliot. Mary looked around slowly but didn't see Elliot anywhere. Or anyone for that matter.

Around her were pots and pans, some even moved every once in a while but they were never held by anyone. She could feel the yellow glow of magic around the appliances, though, so she snuck back towards the further part of the kitchen.

There was just one boy sitting there working on a pancake (even though as far as she knew it was dinner time.) He had dark hair but she couldn't see any more of him since he was turned away from her.

She opened her mouth to say something though she knew it was in vain. But-no, she could speak. "Hello?" How was that? She'd never been able to speak around anyone else but maybe her suspicion was right and she could only speak to witches.

The boy snapped around to face her "the hells, woman?"

"I'm not a woman, you know."

He blinked at her a few times "yeah, you're a soul aren't you? What's a soul doing here?"

"I don't know," she responded "what are you doing here, Gabriel?"

…

"That is our deal, John Winchester." Castiel leaned towards the King with smooth motions "and if you ever try to change it again… Just remember who you're talking to."

John pressed his nose up to Castiel's. The witch recognized this as an obvious challenge but his opponent really wasn't capable of taking it. He was only mortal, after all.

"I'll find a way to kill you," John promised. Of course he'd been trying to find a way to kill witches since one of them killed his wife and hadn't found a way but now he had initiative.

Castiel dismissed that threat. There was only one way to kill him with as much power as he had but John had no way of doing it. Only another witch could kill him but since he already banished all of the others from his Kingdom, Castiel was pretty safe.

"Go back to your room before you make a fool of yourself."

The King turned red at that but knew there was nothing else he could do here. Castiel couldnt' take his son's souls unless he was given permission so John didn't worry about that. He just stormed to his room past Mary's soul. He could have sworn that he smelled her perfume.

Castiel turned back to the Winchester brothers with a more pleasant expression. Really it was just that he didn't like John and perhaps something to do with the fact that he had a terrible temper. The more souls he tried to hold down, the worse his temper got.

"So he traded my soul for Sammy's?" asked Dean. He was watching his brother like he was some kind of long-hoped for miracle.

"He traded my soul for Dean's?" Sam didn't sound nearly as thrilled.

Humans were so peculiar, thought Cas mutey. "No, I told him that I would take no soul but Dean's in return for Samuel's healing."

"Why?" asked Dean, looking on the verge of fury.

Because when Castiel had sat on those trees learning to read, learning to be kind, he remembered that Mary had always talked about her son. About how Dean was going to be the greatest young man, about how he was the most beautiful child that she'd ever met and how he was going to be the most beautiful man too. He thought that maybe Mary would want to see her child again, that maybe Mary was just as lonely as he was. They had once been kindred spirits after all. "It doesn't matter."

Dean would trade his soul for Sammy's any day but that didn't mean he wanted to if he didn't have to. "Why can't you just pick some servant's soul? Why me?"

"You're my choice. So it is your deal to make. Will you give me your soul or let your brother's rot?" He knew what Dean's answer would be.

…

Back in the kitchen, Mary's soul was still staring open-mouthed (or she would have been open-mouthed if she actually had a body instead of just a consciousness.)

Gabriel licked the maple syrup off of his finger "do we know each other or something?"

Mary had never known Gabriel very well at all, only what Castiel had told her. But she did know one thing-the only person that could kill Castiel was another witch and he needed to die before he caused any more damage. She could -not- let Castiel kill her own children or steal their souls.

"We have a common acquaintance. One who we need to have a conversation about."

…

**A/N: I have this really nasty habit of dropping stories that don't get any reviews so if you like it or just think it's bad enough that you want it to continue, that would really help me xD**

**Now I'm going to respond to guest reviews because I couldn't message them…**

**Guest (Mary): I'm not sure all of those things are in the workings but I'll definitely take your ideas into consideration! As for a happy ending...I will try my best! I've never written a story that ended well but hey if everyone wants a happy ending I'll definitely try.**


	4. The Main Chesspiece

Gabriel stared at Mary's empty consciousness. He could see very clearly that whoever had stolen her soul was slowly sucking the soul-energy from her but that didn't mean that Castiel had been the one who did it. There was no way that Balthazar would let him turn into a monster (and everyone knew that when witches started taking names there was something evil inside of them.)

"You have the wrong guy," said Gabriel, returning to his pancake flipping. It was already dangerously burned, but damn it he had to do something to stop the guilt that was writhing in his heart at the mention of his brother. "Cassie is way too good for something like that."

A soul basically looked like a featureless body. It didn't have hair or clothes nor eyes, just hollow carvings where they should have been so when Mary glared at Gabriel he couldn't help the shiver that found it's way up his spine. "Castiel is long dead. Whoever this creature is must be killed."

"You're asking me to kill my little bro?" Okay this was getting too far. He didn't know who this bitch was but he wasn't going to kill -anyone.-

"I'm telling you," said the familiar soul. "That whoever that thing is isn't Castiel anymore."

The pancake by now was blackened and disgusting. He flipped it again for good measure. The other side didn't look as burned. "Well what do you want me to do about that?" Lies, it had to be lies. Not all souls were good but his brother's was.

"You know what I want you to do."

Yes. He did. "You want me to kill Cassie."

Actually that was the last thing that Mary wanted but she knew that Castiel was going to cause a lot more harm than good if he didn't stop in the path that he was going down. "If you don't believe me," she started off "I believe he's eating dinner with my sons now."

"Course I don't," muttered Gabriel. The pancake was such a burned mess now that there was really no point in continuing, though it would be a hilarious prank to send this to the royals now. He was sure they would just -love- that. He scooped it up and put the burnt crisp on a plate. "So let's go, then."

Mary looked down at the plate but decided not to comment.

They walked through the great hall, or Gabriel walked and Mary returned to Castiel. She couldn't stay away from him for too long or he would get angry and no one wanted to see Castiel angry. Besides, he could rip her soul back to him whenever he really wanted to see her so there was no point in staying away for long.

There was pure silence at the table. Castiel was looking down at his uneaten meat. The witch never ate food, why would he when he could just suck energy off of the souls? Dean was looking determined while Sam appeared appalled at whatever had just been said.

"Mary," Castiel said. Her two sons looked up at the sudden voice. "Where were you?"

She was sad to say that she was very afraid of this boy. "I was just exploring the castle, nothing to worry about."

"Don't do it again." He glared at her with those dark blue eyes that had once been so beautiful and innocent.

…

Gabriel was watching from the corner of the room, invisible to all eyes but his own. Dean and Sam (the bratty royal ones) were sitting next to his baby bro. Or he was pretty sure that was his baby bro. The kid was unkept and haunting. He'd been handsome as a child but now he just looked angry and homeless or something. He thought to throw change at the kid but didn't think that would really help.

He might not have thought much of it even though Castiel had always been the cleanest of them as children but the way he talked to Mary was worrisome. Not that Gabriel worried about other people, that would be absurd. Not even this kid who looked like he'd been starving for most of his life. Nope.

Now would probably be a good time to jump out and make some joke to mark his entrance but Gabriel realized that might not be the smartest reason. He could feel the power sparking off of Castiel, almost atomic. Before it would have been easy for him to stop Cas from being a jerk (or homicidal, he wasn't sure. He might have joined in on that party boat.) but it seemed that Castiel was much more powerful now than any which he'd ever met.

He would have to talk to Balthazar about how the hell he'd let their baby brother become this thing! Come on! Gabriel was supposed to be the powerful one and now his weaker little brother was more powerful. That was just annoying.

"Fine, you can take me," muttered Dean. Gabriel really hoped that the prince wasn't talking about what he thought he was talking about. Cassie wasn't gay,right?

"Good," said Castiel in deep, bloodchilling voice.

'Well call me Kristen Stewart and paint me jealous,' he thought obstinately 'I was fine with the good looks and being more powerful but why the hells do you get the batman voice!'

Mary looked at Gabriel desperately. She had to know how powerful he was, it wasn't like Gabriel could actually kill this guy. She was right, though, this was not his brother anymore.

-sorry, honey, too loaded for my wallet to take-

Mary looked like she was about to respond but as soon as she did, Gabriel's whisky-colored eyes met Castiel's blue ones.

Castiel only looked at him with the corner of his eyes at first but then, with a chilling look, he watched his brother with more scrutiny. "Were you thinking, Gabriel," he growled "of trying to kill me?"

Dean and Sam tried to follow his line of sight but as Gabriel was hidden from them, they couldn't see anything. The two brothers exchanged looks, an unsaid confusion airing between them.

Gabriel snapped and was suddenly visible. "Course not, bro! I'm pretty sure that's illegal or something."

Mary could feel anger radiating in waves around Castiel, anger stronger than she'd ever felt on him before. She put one hand on Castiel's shoulder in a vain attempt to calm him and held the other up to stop Gabriel from saying anything else.

"I just," shit, Gabriel couldn't' come up with an excuse "don't have enough money for all of the birthday cakes that I've missed."

The entire room began to shake again "let's talk outside, alone."

"Yeah," said Gabriel "great idea, just let go of all of those souls and we can definitely talk alone."

Let go of his souls? Castiel could never! They wouldn't leave him like Gabriel had, they couldn't leave! He needed them -because- of Gabriel so how could the same man ask him to give them up?

If he was the same person as he had been he would have just clung onto Gabriel and asked why he'd left but Castiel had spent years changing who he was. More power hung onto him than anyone else, he was no longer just a small child.

"Do I look like a fool to you, Gabriel?" growled Castiel "you could kill me if I did that."

Gabriel almost looked hurt but he just put his hands up "not gonna kill anyone, Cassie. I just want to talk to you -alone-"

"This is not the time. I'm making a deal."

Gabriel looked at the two princes at the table "you mean like a demon?"

Castiel grinned coldly, uncharacteristically "why? Does that bother you, Gabriel?" he stood up so that their noses were almost touching. "Does it make you squirm? You made this, you know, without you I might still be your perfect little angel."

Gabriel wouldn't admit it if anyone asked, but he squirmed and sat down in the chair next to his brother. "So, this deal thing. What's that about?"

He could sense his brother's sparking energy, he just needed to find a way to put it out.

And he had an idea.

A/N: Sorry it's taking so long! I'm really busy lately. And I'm quickly losing interest...Please review simply so that I remember that this story exists xD. Not begging, just...If you want it to continue review or I'll probably just forget.


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